Overview of Scheduling Activities in Odoo 19

In Odoo 19, the scheduling of activities remains an important productivity tool that fills the communication gap between teams and ensures that follow-ups are done on time. Activities are reminders that are related to business documents such as Leads, Quotations, Invoices, Tasks, and Custom Models.

Whether you are:

• A salesperson following up on a lead
• An accountant reminding a customer about a payment
• A developer automating internal workflows

Scheduled Activities help keep operations organized and proactive.

What Are Activities in Odoo?

An Activity in Odoo is

• A task linked to a record (res_model, res_id)
• Assigned to a specific user
• With a due date and an optional note
• Displayed in the chatter and Activity Menu

Activity Types

• Call
• Email
• Meeting
• To-Do
• Custom Activities

Scheduling Activities from the User Interface

Step-by-Step (Functional Flow)

• Open any document (e.g., Sales orders)

• Click Schedule Activity

• Select Activity Type

• Choose Due Date
• Assign User
• Add Summary / Notes
• Save

Where Activities Are Commonly Used

CRM (Leads & Opportunities)

• Follow-up calls after lead creation
• Proposal reminders
• Opportunity status tracking

Sales

• Quotation follow-ups
• Contract renewals
• Customer confirmation reminders

Accounting

• Payment follow-ups
• Invoice dispute handling
• Audit reminders

Project & Tasks

• Task reviews
• Deadline follow-ups
• Internal coordination

Activities adapt seamlessly across all Odoo applications.

Understanding the Activity Menu

The Activity Menu (clock icon in the top bar) provides a centralized view of all scheduled activities:

• Grouped by application
• Filtered by Today, Planned, and Overdue
• Clickable shortcuts to the related records

This helps users prioritize work without navigating through multiple modules.

Technical Overview: mail.activity Model

From a developer’s perspective, activities are handled by the mail.activity model.

Key Fields

• activity_type_id – Defines the type of activity
• res_model_id – Related model
• res_id – Record ID
• user_id – Assigned user
• date_deadline – Due date
• summary – Short description
• note – Detailed notes

Activities are tightly integrated with the mail framework, making them extensible and automation-friendly.

Scheduling Activities Programmatically (Python)

Developers can create activities automatically based on business logic.

Example: Auto Schedule Activity on Lead Creation

from odoo import models, fields, api
from datetime import timedelta
class CrmLead(models.Model):
   _inherit = 'crm.lead'
   @api.model
   def create(self, vals):
       lead = super().create(vals)
       activity_type = self.env.ref('mail.mail_activity_data_call')
       self.env['mail.activity'].create({
           'activity_type_id': activity_type.id,
           'res_model_id': self.env['ir.model']._get_id('crm.lead'),
           'res_id': lead.id,
           'user_id': lead.user_id.id or self.env.user.id,
           'date_deadline': fields.Date.today() + timedelta(days=2),
           'summary': 'Follow-up with customer',
       })
       return lead

This ensures that every newly created lead automatically has a follow-up activity scheduled.

Using Automated Actions to Schedule Activities

Odoo allows non-developers to automate activity creation using Automated Actions.

Steps:

1. Enable Developer Mode
2. Navigate to Settings > Technical > Automation > Automated Actions
3. Select:
• Model
• Trigger (On Creation / Update)
• Python Code

Example Code

activity_type = env.ref('mail.mail_activity_data_todo')
env['mail.activity'].create({
   'activity_type_id': activity_type.id,
   'res_model_id': env['ir.model']._get_id('sale.order'),
   'res_id': record.id,
   'user_id': record.user_id.id,
   'date_deadline': fields.Date.today(),
   'summary': 'Review Sales Order',
})

This approach is ideal for functional consultants implementing workflow rules without custom modules.

Creating Custom Activity Types

Custom activity types help standardize internal processes.

Example XML

<record id="activity_type_quality_check" model="mail.activity.type">
   <field name="name">Quality Check</field>
   <field name="category">default</field>
   <field name="icon">fa-check-circle</field>
</record>

These custom types then become available across all models.

Activity Lifecycle & States

Activities automatically move through different states:

• Planned – Scheduled for a future date
• Due Today – Deadline is today
• Overdue – Deadline has passed
• Done – Activity completed

Completing activities keeps the system clean and improves reporting accuracy.

Scheduling Activities in Odoo 19 is a powerful way to ensure accountability, improve collaboration, and streamline daily operations. From simple reminders to complex automated workflows, activities play a vital role in keeping businesses organized.

For developers and consultants, mastering activity scheduling is essential when designing scalable and user-friendly Odoo solutions.

To read more about How to Manage Activities in Odoo 19, refer to our blog How to Manage Activities in Odoo 19.